Eden Robinson is a novelist and a member of the Haisla Nation in western Canada. Critics and fellow writers have praised her work for combining traditional Haisla stories with popular genres of literature, such as fantasy and mystery fiction. But Robinson is not the only Indigenous writer to blend traditional stories with popular literature. In the 2019 novel Empire of Wild, Cherie Dimaline successfully blended the oral storytelling tradition of her people, the Metis, with horror fiction.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Explanation
Context: The passage mentions Eden Robinson as an Indigenous writer who blends Haisla stories with genres like fantasy and mystery, then immediately pivots to note that she isn't alone—Cherie Dimaline also blends Métis oral tradition with horror fiction.
Answer: A) To discuss two writers who blend traditional Indigenous stories with popular genres
Why? The passage's structure is explicitly comparative: it introduces Robinson, then uses "But Robinson is not the only Indigenous writer" to transition to Dimaline. Both writers and the same practice (blending tradition with genre) are the focus throughout.
Traps:
- B) To urge younger Indigenous authors to avoid popular genres → the passage does the opposite: it celebrates this blending, not discourages it
- C) To argue traditional stories are more memorable than novels → no such comparison is made; the passage praises the hybrid form
- D) To explain why one author is more successful than another → the passage doesn't rank Robinson and Dimaline or compare their success